War was just about to break out when Shackleton prepared to set sail for the Antarctic. He had failed to reach the South Pole on previous expeditions and now Amundson and Scott had beat him to it. So he had decided on a bold enterprise. Using two ships, the Endurance and the Aurora (which he had purchased from Mawson) he planned to undertake the first Trans-Antarctic crossing.
The intention was that the Aurora would set out from Australia and establish a base on the Ross Sea side of Antarctica. From there, they would send teams inland to lay down supply dumps for Shackleton's party who would land on the Weddell sea side of Antarctica in the Endurance and head for the South pole then on to meet up with the Aurora team.
But the threat of war overrode these considerations and whilst in London, Shackleton called the crew together and asked if they were willing to volunteer to fight. All agreed and the company offered their services to the War Office. Churchill, however, sent them a telegram insisting that they carry on with the expedition. So they sailed on to Plymouth, by which time war was declared, and from there headed to Antarctica.
The plan involved breaking through the ice to make a landfall but unfortunately the Endurance was caught in ice and they were eventually forced to abandon their ship when it was crushed. The party set acroos the ice floes dragging three of the lifeboats from the ship. They spent the Winter camped on these floes but the coming of Spring and Summer made this hazardous. They needed to find land but it was hazardous to launch the boats.
Eventually a gap in the ice gave them the chance and they sailed and rowed to Elephant Island. There, Shackleton left most of the company and set off with a small crew in one of the boats, the 'James Caird', to get help. After a spectacualrly dangerous journey they reached South Georgia but were on the wrong side of the island and had to hike over uncharted mountains to the whaling station.
From there he sailed to Chile and charted a boat to rescue his men. Three times he was forced back but on the fourth attempt he succeeded in rescuing all of them.
The party of the Aurora, who landed in the Ross Sea , were less fortunate. The ship snapped its anchor, leaving the shore party lacking in key supplies, with dogs who were ill acclimatised to the conditions. By the time they were rescued three men had been killed. Shackleton always blamed himself for this, even though it was no fault of his.
"MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON"
This was the advertisement placed in a London newspaper seeking recruits for Shackleton's Trans-Antarctic Expedition? Shackleton's method of selection was idiosyncratic (poor) and was only ever held together by his personal magnetism.
This is the main crew.
Sir Ernest Shackleton (Expedition Leader)
Irish-born, Shackleton had been with Scott on the 1901 Discovery expedition but had suffered scurvy. On the Nimrod (the old name for the "Endurance") expedition of 1908, he discovered Beardmore glacier and came within 97 miles of the pole. By all accounts a good leader and if nothing else always put his men before himself. Never lost a man in his charge. He died of heart failure on South Georgia Island in 1922 whilst attempting another expedition. Commissioned as Major and served in North Russia during the war. serving with him were Worsley, Stenhouse, Hussey, Macklin and Brocklehurst.
Frank Worsley (Captain)
A New Zealander. Worsley's seamanship was respected. Shackleton gave special praise to his abilities when he navigated Shackleton's lifeboat the James Caird across 800 miles of freezing, mountainous and dangerous seas to reach South Georgia Island. Returned to the navy and was known as "Depth Charge Bill". Gained the Distinguished service Order for sinking three submarines.
Frank Wild (Second-in-Command)
Previously on Scott's Discovery, Mawson's and Shackleton's Nimrod expeditions. Wild remained on Elephant Island in charge of the party waiting for rescue. Impressed the men with his optimism. Within a fortnight of Shackleton's departure he would roll up his sleeping bag each day remarking, "Get your things ready boys, the boss may come today". Joined up after and was sent to the North Russian Front.
Lionel Greenstreet (First Officer)
From the merchant navy. He joined Shackleton's expedition just 24 hours before it left Plymouth, England, because another officer decided to join up for the war. Subsequently employed during the war on barges on the Tigris.
Tom Crean (Second Officer)
An Irishman, who joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16. He had been with Robert Scott on both the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions. was part of the the final support team on the latter expedition - the last to see Scott and his party as they set off for the pole and died. He accompanied Shackleton on the boat rescue journey.
Alfred Cheetham (Third Officer)
Had previously made threeAntarctic trips but was drowned a few weeks before the armistice when the vessel he was in was torpedoed.
Australian, Hurley ran away from home at age 13, working in an ironworks and the Sydney dockyards before becoming a photographer. A brilliant photographer. Also shot the the movie film which has recently been restored. Dived into a metre of freezing water to rescue his film.
Went on three sledging journeys on Shackleton's Nimrod expedition. Took sketches of all the stages of the Endurance expedition, including the journey across the ice floes.
Mentioned in "South" using his dredging nets to bring up biological specimens from the deep Antarctic seas. Served on minesweepers during the war.
Leonard Hussey (Meteorologist)
Worked as an archeologist in the Sudan before joining the Endurance. Played a one string home-made violin and also a banjo which he managed to keep with him throughout the expedition. Took the same instrument on Shackleton's final expedition. Served in France with the Royal Garrison Artillery for 18 months and saw action at Dixmunde and St Quentin.
Reginald James (Physicist)
The expedition's magnetician and physicist. Took the wind readings. Joined the Royal Engineers when he returned.
James Wordie (Geologist)
A bearded, bespectacled Scot from Glasgow. His expedition nearly ended prematurely when he fell through the ice and had to be hurriedly hauled clear before a killer whale got to him. Wordie joined the Royal Field Artillery and was badly wounded at Armentieres. Fuchs refers to him in "The Crossing of Antarctica". He cabled him in 1950. By then he was Master of St John's College, Cambridge.
With McIlroy, Macklin was given the job of caring for the ship's dogs. Son of a doctor from Scotland's Scilly Isles, Macklin, according to his son Sandy Macklin, had intended to remove his glasses for his initial interview with Shackleton, for fear the great man would not hire him as surgeon, but he forgot. When Shackleton asked him if he required glasses, Macklin replied with the first thought that came to his mind: "Many a wise face would look foolish without glasses." Shackleton hired him on the spot. After the expedition he joined up and served in France as medical officer to the Tanks where he won the Military Cross.
Before joining Shackleton, McIlroy had been both a practicing surgeon in Japan, Malaysia, and Egypt, and a ship's doctor aboard passenger ships in the East Indies. As with Macklin, McIlroy was was given the job of caring for the ship's dogs. Both doctors remained on Elephant Island to care for the men. They amputated Blackborow's toes. McIlroy was subsequently badly wounded at Ypres.
Hubert Hudson (Navigator)
Son of a London minister, who was a mate in the merchant service when he signed on and the expedition's most accomplished penguin-catcher.
Thomas Orde-Lees (Ski Expert and Storekeeper)
A captain in the Royal Marines, Orde-Lees was in charge of the motor-sledges that would have helped carry Shackleton's team across the continent but which probably would have failed the same as Scott's. His diary comments are one of the more perceptive kept by Shackleton's crew. Orde-Lees was disliked by the other exhibition members on account of his eccentric ways (whilst in the marines his fellow offices had thrown him overboard for similar reasons). Suffering from seasickness he refused to help the others row to Elephant Island then suddenly jumped up and bailed like a madman to keep the boat afloat. Later, with the recommendation of Shackleton he joined the Royal Flying Corps where he campaigned for pilots to be issued with parachutes. To support this he parachuted off London's Tower Bridge.
Charles Green (Cook)
The son of a master baker, Green went to sea at the age of 21, becoming a cook in the Merchant Navy. With Blackborow's help, he worked in the galley - both aboard ship and on the ice -- from early morning till evening, preparing meals for 28 mouths. Continued his job on the ice floes and was arguably one of the most popular crew members because of it.
Blackborow, stowed away with the help of Bakewell and How, Stuck with him, Shackleton made Blackborow steward. He had all the toes on his left foot removed due to severe frostbite.
One of the oldest members of the expedition, McNeish was a rugged Scot and a skilled carpenter. He was also an alcoholic who suffered from piles. He accompanied Shackleton on the boat rescue journey. He reportedly never forgave Shackleton for having his cat, "Mrs. Chippy," shot when many of the dogs were also put down. Shackleton also never forgave him for leading a mutiny on the ice floes. The crew of the Endurance had not expected to be stranded on the ice and believed they were no longer covered by ships's articles. Shackleton persuaded them that they were and also offered to continue paying them until the end of the expedition (had they known his reputation with money thay might not have thought that this was such a good offer). He then took McNeish aside and threatened to shoot him. McNeish believed, correctly, that Shackleton didn't know what he was doing. He wanted to build a sloop out of the remains of the Endurance so that they could all sail away when the ice broke. His plan would probably have worked. Mcneish was refused a polar medal, unlike the other exhibition members.
A former navy sailor and trawlerhand, Vincent was the strongest man aboard, and he used his brawniness at times in a bullying way -- until Shackleton put him in his place. Shackleton chose him for the journey to South Georgia, very likely both for his strength and to keep an eye on him.
Alfred Kerr (Engineer)
A reticent man in his early 20s, Kerr had some experience working on oil tank steamers before joining the Endurance. Like his mate Rickinson, he kept largely to himself and did his job well. Returned to the Merchant Service as an engineer.
Why someone with a particular aversion to cold would join an expedition to the Antarctic is a mystery, but Louis Rickinson did. His condition might have had a medical basis, for it is believed he suffered a heart attack while on Elephant Island. Rickinson was deemed a solid engineer who had a knack with internal combustion engines. Later commissioned as Engineer-Lieutenant, RN.
Orde-Lees considered Holness, who hailed from Yorkshire, "the most loyal to the expedition." Holness was so desperate to smoke during the long wait on Elephant Island that, according to Orde-Lees, he "sits up in the cold every night after everyone else has turned in, gazing intently at Wild & McIlroy in the hopes that one of them will give him the unsmokeable part of a toilet-paper cigarette."
William Stephenson (Stoker)
The senior stoker, Stephenson was a former officer's servant and Royal Marine. When the ice crushed the Endurance, his job as tender of the marine steam boiler came to an abrupt end, as did that of his mate Holness. For some reason, he and Holness were two of only four people (the other two were Vincent and McNeish), whom Shackleton did not recommend for Polar Medal after the crew's return to England.
The only American on the expedition, Bakewell posed as a Canadian when applying for a position aboard the Endurance. He had quite the roamer's resume, having been a farm worker, logger, railwayman, and ranch hand before going to sea. He helped his pal Blackborow stow away on the ship at Buenos Aires.
Though Marston was the expedition's official artist, one reason the publicity-minded Shackleton may have chosen How was for his capabilities as an amateur artist. How also had experience in cold climates, having worked in the sub-Arctic with the Canadian Auxiliary Survey Ship.
Timothy McCarthy (Seaman)
He accompanied Shackleton on the boat rescue journey who praised him for his cheerfullness and optimism and called him the most "efficient of sailors". He was killed in the British Channel during the war.
Thomas McLeod (Seaman)
When he joined the crew of the Endurance, McLeod had a full 27 years of experience as a sailor, having adopted a life at sea at the tender age of 14. He had been to the Antarctic twice, once with Scott on Terra Nova and again with Shackleton aboard Nimrod.
Sir Daniel Gooch
Gooch, who helped tend to the sledge dogs, traveled only as far as South Georgia.
